Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 729 A Shocking Reversal: The Cold-Blooded Nature of Truth

Xu Yuan, his face contorted in pain, seemed to be squeezing his voice out with all his might, each word carrying immense weight: "This fragment bears the calligraphy of Emperor Huizong, which is suspected to have been added by later generations."

Upon close examination of the structure, it is made of double-threaded silk, similar to the Bai Ruilian version, while the Palace Museum version is made of single-threaded silk. Therefore, I determine that this piece and the Bai Ruilian version are from the same source.

The excited host interrupted Xu Yuan: "Mr. Xu, are you saying that you judged this fragment to be cut from the Bai Ruilian book?"

"Yes." Xu Yuan, his face contorted with immense pain, closed his eyes, his voice dry and weak, yet unwavering.

"Wow—"

A huge wave of gasps erupted both on and off stage, abruptly interrupting what Xu Yuan was about to say.

Determined to uphold the truth, even at the cost of destroying the Five Families, Xu Yuan looked up in bewilderment and saw the audience in an uproar, discussing amongst themselves. He saw that Director Luo and Huang Kewu, who were sitting in the VIP seats, had both stood up, and that the other members of the Five Families all had expressions of astonishment and ecstasy.

What's going on? Why are they all so happy? Shouldn't it be that I've let them down and become the biggest traitor among the Five Families?
Xu Yuan turned her head back blankly, and the ten experts on the stage were whispering among themselves. But what was most unexpected was that Zhong Aihua, as Bai Ruilian's representative, did not show a victor's smile. Instead, her expression was extremely distorted, as if an invisible hand had wiped her face, causing all her features to shift out of place.

He gripped the side of the boat tightly with both hands, his wide eyes staring at him like two machine guns spitting fire.

Xu Yuan found the enemies' reactions rather strange.

What's going on? They don't seem to be celebrating a victory.

Xu Yuan looked at all of this with confusion, somewhat bewildered.

The host's booming voice rang out: "Now, let's replay the scene on the big screen!"

The scene of the expert's commentary was replayed on the big screen. In fact, all the audience members had already seen it, except for Xu Yuan, who was in the thatched hut and could neither hear nor see it.

On the screen, Zhong Aihua was speaking eloquently, "...The expert panel unanimously agreed that if such a fragment exists, its authenticity is highly questionable...If a so-called fragment of 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' exists, it is definitely a fake, and any scroll that corroborates the fragment must be a forgery..."

After the video finished playing, the host excitedly shouted: "Ten experts unanimously agree that the fragment is fake, and the scroll that corroborates the fragment must also be a forgery."

Mr. Xu Yuan believes the fragment matches the Bai Ruilian version. I think the result is already obvious and undisputed: the Palace Museum version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is the true national treasure!

The person in charge of Bairuilian suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "Wait! How can we make such a conclusion so hastily? I disagree! I disagree!"

Unfortunately, no one heard him by then. Grand music started playing, and confetti rained down from the ceiling.

The lights at Bairuilian's booth suddenly went out, while the lights at the Palace Museum's booth shone brightly.

Xu Yuan looked on in bewilderment as Director Luo excitedly led the applause, enlisting the help of a large portion of the audience. The hall erupted in applause, except for Zhong Aihua, whose face remained ashen and motionless.

Xu Yuan was completely dumbfounded. What on earth had happened with this sudden and dramatic change? Countless questions swirled in his mind.

The analysis in Zhong Aihua's video was actually quite correct. "The One Under Heaven" was Emperor Huizong's signature, and according to common sense, it should indeed only appear on his own paintings.

He could affix his double-dragon seal to "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," he could inscribe the painting and calligraphy, he could sign his name, but he shouldn't have left these four characters. Since Xu Yuan wasn't a calligraphy and painting expert, he hadn't noticed this detail at the time.

The question is, how did Zhong Aihua know about the existence of the fragment?
Moreover, the fragment has been on him ever since it was unearthed, so how did the other party know it was fake?

Furthermore, what exactly is going on with this bizarre victory situation? What were Zhong Aihua's considerations when she said those words just now?
Xu Yuan was still standing on the stage, her face flushed with excitement. Huang Yanyan, her eyes sparkling with excitement, looked at Gao Dongxu, who was smiling faintly and standing up to applaud. She asked in a trembling voice, "Did you already know that this would be the result?"

Gao Dongxu smiled faintly, neither admitting nor denying, while Huang Yanyan immediately hugged Gao Dongxu's arm tightly and asked in a trembling voice, "What exactly happened?"

"I'll tell you later. Now is the time to celebrate," Gao Dongxu said with a smile.

"Hmm—" Huang Yanyan nodded with a smile on her pretty face, but when she looked at the stage, her expression changed slightly as she exclaimed, "Making a wish is dangerous—"

Zhong Aihua jumped off the expert platform and rushed towards Xu Yuan, shouting incoherently, "Why did you choose Bai Ruilian! Why didn't you choose the Forbidden City!"

Xu Yuan let Zhong Aihua grab her collar, her mind a complete mess; everything was too chaotic. Zhong Aihua roared, "Did you already know? Did you kill Chen Sheng?"

"What are you talking about?" Xu Yuan asked, puzzled. Zhong Aihua continued shouting, spittle flying everywhere, "Stop pretending to be confused! You must have tortured Chen Sheng to extract the truth..." "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just upholding principles and truth, separating truth from falsehood!" Xu Yuan's expression changed slightly. She forcefully pushed Zhong Aihua away and said righteously.

Looking at Xu Yuan's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, Zhong Aihua smiled with a deep sense of self-deprecation: "Such an ingenious plan, but in the end it was defeated by one person's principles and persistence. You truly deserve to be called Brother Xu. I still maintain that I admire you very much and envy you. You are the person I have always wanted to be."

"What on earth is going on?!" Xu Yuan asked loudly.

Unfortunately, Zhong Aihua could no longer give him an answer. Suddenly, a sharp dagger appeared in his hand, and taking advantage of the chaos, his eyes turned bloodshot and his face contorted as he lunged at Huang Kewu, who was walking forward with Director Luo to celebrate with Xu Yuan.

"Be careful--"

Just as Zhong Aihua was about to stab Huang Kewu with a dagger, Xu Yuan shouted. The next moment, Pi Song, a burly man with icy eyes, suddenly appeared behind Huang Kewu and delivered a powerful whip kick that sent Zhong Aihua flying sideways.

"Dang Cang——"

"boom--"

The dagger fell to the ground, and Zhong Aihua followed suit, falling to the ground in pain. Amidst the screams of the audience, the security guards finally reacted and pounced on Zhong Aihua, pinning him to the ground.

Zhong Aihua didn't resist, letting them twist her arms behind her back, but she kept her head up, looking calmly at Huang Kewu, who was frowning and had deep eyes. She said, "Consider yourself lucky to have spared my grandmother. You've already killed your own son; if you kill my grandmother too, you'll surely die a horrible death—"

"What?!" Huang Kewu's expression changed drastically upon hearing Zhong Aihua's words, and he swayed twice, but fortunately Pi Song reached out to support him.

"Grandpa—" At this moment, Huang Yanyan and Gao Dongxu, whose faces were pale, quickly came to Huang Kewu's side.

Huang Kewu glanced at Huang Yanyan, then looked at Zhong Aihua with incredibly sharp eyes and said, "What do you mean? Explain yourself!"

“If you want to know the truth, go see my grandmother, she will tell you everything—” Zhong Aihua shouted as she was pushed and shoved out of the venue by security guards.

The media had already noticed this unexpected turn of events and rushed over like madmen, focusing their cameras on Director Luo, Huang Kewu, and Zhong Aihua who was being taken away. The stage was in chaos, and no one paid any attention to the male lead, Xu Yuan.

"Yanyan, are you hiding something from me?" Huang Kewu asked Huang Yanyan.

“Grandpa, now is not the time to talk about this. Let’s talk about it when we get home,” Huang Yanyan said hurriedly, helping Huang Kewu up.

Huang Kewu nodded with a gloomy face. After Director Luo stepped forward to confirm that he was alright, he and the other members of the Five Families walked towards Xu Yuan.

Director Luo patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder with delight: "Bai Ruilian has completely lost face by making such a scene. Well done."

The others also congratulated Xu Yuan, all thinking he was a brilliant strategist who had seen through Bai Ruilian's trap. Little did they know that on the stage just now, Xu Yuan had been torn between his inner turmoil and his decision to uphold the truth, even at the cost of the Five Families and the nation's honor—a painful and perilous ordeal.

Faced with countless praises, Xu Yuan felt extremely embarrassed and guilty. The more the Five Families praised him, the more guilty he felt. After all, without the final unexpected turn of events, his adherence to the truth would have led him to personally destroy the Five Families and the honor of the nation.

Fortunately, the outcome took a stunning turn... In any case, it's all over now. The crisis of the Five Families has been resolved, and the honor of the nation has been preserved.

Surrounded by members of the Five Families and the media, Gao Dongxu's expression shifted from confusion, bewilderment, embarrassment, and guilt to embarrassment, a smile, and a calm acceptance of victory. He couldn't help but smile slightly.

Director Luo, Liu Yiming of the Five Families, and Huang Kewu all wanted to hone Xu Yuan into an invincible sword. It has to be said that they have succeeded now. From today onwards, Xu Yuan's status and influence in China and even the entire Asian antique world will reach an unimaginable height.

However, to the disappointment of Director Luo and Liu Yiming, the sword of wishing is an uncontrollable, cold-blooded, and ruthless sword of truth!
It must be understood that, throughout history and across the world, upholding the truth has always come at a heavy price!

"What? You mean Bai Ruilian knew everything about the wish, from beginning to end?"

After the party ended and everyone dispersed, on the way back to the Huang family villa, Gao Dongxu told Huang Yanyan the truth. Huang Yanyan's face changed, her beautiful eyes widened in shock, and she asked in a trembling voice.

“Yes, Zhong Aihua had already planted a bug in the dormitory when she first visited Dai Haiyan. So, Zhong Aihua knew everything that Dai Haiyan said about the wishing box, and Bai Ruilian was also following up on everyone the wishing box came into contact with afterward…” Gao Dongxu said with a faint smile, his arm around Huang Yanyan’s slender waist.

"So Bai Ruilian was always very clear about the fact that she wished to hold the fragment."

At this point, Huang Yanyan felt a chill run down her spine.

(End of this chapter)